As she was lost in her thoughts, a sudden commotion outside the window brought her back. Opening the window, a long-awaited carrier pigeon flew in, braving the cold wind and promptly perched on her arm.
Melia took the message from the pigeon’s leg, glanced at the maids who were tidying up, and then opened the letter.
The letter was sent by Luo’er and his group, announcing the completion of Princess Melia’s task and asking her to keep her promise. Luo’er also attached an additional request, asking her to reveal the origin of the Marsyan Royal Artillery’s cannons.
Melia finished reading the letter, crumpling it in her hand. She closed the window, moved to the candle, and held the letter over the flame. The flame ignited the paper instantly, Melia released her grip, letting it burn to ashes, slowly falling to the ground.
Then, she took out a prepared piece of intelligence from her bosom. She stared at the flickering flame, hesitating for a long time, then reached out to burn the secret info. All of a sudden, she seemed to have realized something, immediately took back the information, and did not burn it.
What Melia thought of was the identity of Luo’er and his group. They were from the Otherworld, or in their terms, Earth. Though no one was willing to admit it, Melia knew very well that the Earthlings were gradually seizing control of the Magic World. Their presence was evident in the Odelanqi arms case and also behind the rebels.
At the moment, she needed help. To her, whether they were Earthlings or Marsyans, as long as they could assist her, she needed to enlist their help.
Melia didn’t want to make this kind of unprofitable deal. Luo’er knew her story and didn’t have any conflicting interests with her, so she had no reason to deceive them. To her, the power behind Luo’er was also something to be united with.
For Melia, she was willing to sacrifice the front line troops to avoid being married off to Odelanqi, even if it meant Galan would face a siege. For her, cooperating with Earthlings didn’t burden her conscience; if they could help her, she would pursue their Continue reading more chapters on NovelHub for the best experience.
With that thought, Melia attached the intelligence to the carrier pigeon’s leg, then opened the window to send it flying.
She didn’t answer Luo’er’s additional question because to her, she only promised Luo’er to stir up trouble between Odelanqi and Marsya, handing over the intelligence on Odelanqi’s dispatched troops. She didn’t care about the magnitude of the chaos they caused or what else they might have done. Even if Luo’er exceeded the target, she would not pay extra for any confidential information.
If they want additional intelligence, they need to do something more for her. This was Melia’s thought at the moment. To her, it was merely a transaction, with no question of treason. Besides, the Otherworld’s civilization was still in the Middle Ages, where the concept of a nation didn’t exist; it was always just a war among the nobles, having little to do with the commoners and slaves.
By this time, it was already the fourth day after the front line troops’ rebellion. The Advance Team had been hiding in the rebel-controlled territory, waiting for Princess Melia’s message. They couldn’t possibly report back empty-handed.
They were hiding in a cave in the mountains. The snow here wasn’t as deep as near Obus, and a frozen stream flowed past the cave mouth.
Luckily, Luo’er’s injury wasn’t serious. With the help of Resurrection Magic, the wounds in his ears gradually healed and his hearing was slowly returning, allowing him to breathe a sigh of relief.
However, their supplies were almost depleted, relying solely on hunting by the snipers for survival every day. If they didn’t receive any news from Princess Melia soon, they would have to return to Yazhi City first.
Even Luo’er himself was uncertain whether Princess Melia would keep her word, considering her cunning and astute nature. Although he knew her plan, he couldn’t do anything about it. The most he could do was to irritate her a little.
Moreover, they had just stirred up a hornet’s nest. It would be courting death to mess around in the kingdom army-controlled region at this moment. Even if they were to disseminate Princess Melia’s plan, considering the king’s character, the worst he would do is put her under house arrest.
Even though King Valen was always considering his Crown Prince, Oliver, Princess Melia was still his daughter. He wasn’t likely to harm her.
Sometimes, Luo’er really felt pity for King Valen. He had always treated Melia as his own daughter, whereas she always wished he would peacefully give up the power and die.
As Luo’er was resting his cheek in his hand and pondering, a small figure appeared before him. The cave was dark. Only the light from the bonfire allowed them to see their surroundings. Luo’er lifted his head to look at the dark figure, filled with a sense of guilt.
Yaning stood with her back to the bonfire, her round eyes curiosity watching him. Ever since the Advance Team rescued her, she seemed to consider the Team members as family, showing no signs of resistance.
But the more she behaved this way, the more Luo’er felt guilty towards her. If not for his call for bombardment, her whole village including her parents wouldn’t have died. Though he knew it had been the only option at the time, his mind grew increasingly uneasy every time Yaning stared at him innocently.
Yaning kept staring at him. Finally, she stretched out her chubby finger and pinched Luo’er’s drooping ear. Perhaps influenced by Tangmo, she seemed to take great interest in Luo’er’s elven ears.
Luo’er did not move, lost in his thoughts, allowing her to keep pinching his ear. Yaning tilted her head and pinched his ear, sticking her chubby fingers into his ear canal.
His ear had just been injured a few days ago, so he couldn’t help but turn his head, crying out in pain.
Hearing Luo’er’s voice, Yaning immediately stepped back, her large eyes looking at him somewhat frantically. After hesitating for a moment, she slowly moved close to his ear, gently blowing into it.
Yaning’s "treatment" had no effect and only tickled his ear, causing Luo’er to rub his ear. Seeing her innocent appearance, he felt his heart was melting.
"Yaning," seeing Yaning blowing air into Luo’er’s ear, Tangmo quickly walked over to pick her up, then said to her with a heartbroken look on his face, "Luo’er’s ear just got hurt, you can’t tease him anymore."
After the two reconciled, Tangmo still cared a lot about Luo’er. Even though Luo’er’s choice had led to her parents’ death, Tangmo had started to understand his predicament.
"Is your ear okay now?" After moving Yaning aside, Tangmo squatted down to look at him and asked with a concerned expression.
"The wound has healed, and my hearing hasn’t gotten worse as a result." Luo’er pointed at his ear and shook his head.
"Really, you don’t even know how to take care of yourself, just look at the state you’re in." Hearing Luo’er’s words, Tangmo turned her face away, expressing her discontent.
"Still, thank you for caring about me," Luo’er said with a smile.
"What do you mean, are you saying I didn’t care about you before?" Tangmo frowned, responding awkwardly.
Luo’er said with a bitter smile, "What I mean is, it’s touching that you still care for me as always even after everything we’ve been through."
Tangmo blinked while looking at him and finally snapped back to reality, slightly huffed, and turned her head away with her cheeks flushing. It must be admitted that Luo’er was pretty good with words.
As the night was falling, the snipers finally returned, with Hu Daoke carrying back a deer-like wild animal. According to Hu Daoke, creature, much like a dazed deer, stuck its head in a snowdrift as soon as they startled it away. They didn’t even need to fire their guns - a single strike was enough to bring it back.
That night, everyone enjoyed the roast meat with delight. The beast would be enough for them for two days, so they had no worry about food for now.
After dinner, Princess Melia’s carrier pigeon arrived belatedly. The food-enjoying Hu Daoke almost had it caught and roasted, luckily Cheng Ziang stopped him.
Luo’er opened the letter, feeling a huge weight lifting off his shoulders. Princess Melia had kept her promise; they had obtained the information they wanted.
However, to Luo’er’s disappointment, Princess Melia did not answer his additional question about the source of Masya’s cannons.
Nevertheless, it wasn’t surprising. Given what Luo’er knew about Princess Melia, there was no way he could obtain information from this kind of profit-oriented person without offering something in return. It didn’t matter anymore, they had received the information the headquarters required, and they didn’t want to risk their lives for Princess Melia again.
According to the information provided by Princess Melia, Odelanqi had sent two royal knight groups and four mage legions to Masya, totaling around twenty thousand soldiers, and they were all deployed.
However, due to their dramatic action, the relationship between Masya and Odelanqi was now hostile, and all those deployed forces from Odelanqi had been withdrawn as a result.
Luo’er and his companions didn’t know what had happened after the rebellion on the frontline, but several times during their stay in the rebel-controlled territory, they saw assembled rebel forces rushing to the frontline. Clearly, they had found out about the internal strife on the frontline and were planning to take advantage of the chaos.
No matter what happened on the frontline, they didn’t care anymore. Despite being the instigators of the entire turmoil, if there were to be any blame, it wouldn’t be their turn - Princess Melia would be the one deserving of punishment.
However, considering Princess Melia’s thick skin, unless tangible evidence against her was found, it would be impossible to hold her accountable.
Regardless, their mission in Masya was finally over. After Luo’er had Tangmo send a messenger to the headquarters, they began preparing to return to Yazhi City.